Chapter 12: The Second War for Independence and the Upsurge of Nationalism 1812-1824

Mr. Madison's War:

  • The British arming of hostile Indians and the Dem-Rep war hawks pushed Madison to decision for war
  • Asked Congress to declare war (1812) and the voted yes, it was WAR!
  • Support for war = S and W Dem-Reps, and PA, VA.
  • Opposition from Federalists (NE) - also against aquistition of Canada - New England governers didn't allow their militias to fight outside their state.
  • America had 2 enemies: Old England and New England
  • Widespread disunity - leading divided people into war

"On to Canada" over Land and Lakes:

  • Army ill-trained, militia sucked, strategy against Canada was poor. 3 attacks at Detroit, Niagara, and Lake Champlain - all beaten. 1812.
  • American navy was better than army - "frigates"
  • Am. Naval Officer Oliver Hazard Perry - got British on Great Lakes => Battle of Thames 1813
  • 1814 - Am. defense. Thomas Macdonough - defeated British, kept them out of NY.

Washington Burned and New Orleans Defended:

  • August 1814 - British force advanced on Washington and set fire to most public buildings, Capitol, and White House
  • British attacked For McHenry but could not capture the city - Francis Scott Key "Star-Spangled Banner"
  • 3rd blow of 1814 armed at New Orleans - Andrew Jackson in command. Overconfident British launched frontal attack and got owned (most devastating blow of the war) (Jan 1815)
  • Andrew Jackson became a hero. The Treaty of Ghent had been signed 2 weeks before The Battle of New Orleans => nationalism
  • Royal Navy blockaded America's coast - damaged economy

The Treaty of Ghent:

  • Tsar of Russia proposed peace. 5 American peacemakers met in Ghent, Belgium 1814. Led by John Quincy Adams.
  • Britain wanted the Great Lakes and Maine, but were preoccupied w/ Treaty of Vienna and France, so let it go.
  • Treaty of Ghent = Dec. 1814: both sides agreed to stop fighting and restore conquered terriotry.
  • "Nothing gained or lost" - true tie.

Federalists' Grievances and the Hartford Convention:

  • Some Fed. New England extremists proposed secession from the Union or separate peace with Britain.
  • "Blue Light Federalists" - flashed lanterns for blockading British ships.
  • 1814 Hartford Convention: MA, CT, RI and NH, VT - 26 men in all met to discuss grievances and to seek redress for their wrongs. Less radical than people though.
  • => Convention demanded financial assistance from Washington to compensate for lost trade and proposed amendments requiring 2/3 vote in Congress before embargo, new states, or WAR. Also wanted to abolish 3/5 clause, limit presidents to one term, and prohibit election of 2 consecutive presidents from some state - aimed at "Virginia Dynasty"
  • Sent 3 envoys to Washington (celebrating Ghent) and their demands sank into obscurity.
  • Death of the Federalist party.

The Second War for American Independence:

  • War of 1812 was samll - only 6,000 Americans were killed/wounded
  • Other nations developed a respect for America's fighting prowess => Foreign emissaries gained respect.
  • Biggest casualty of the war = Federalist party.
  • Indians forced to give up land N of Ohio River.
  • Manufacturing: America less dependent upon Britain.

Nascent Nationalism:

  • =>Heightened nationalism
  • American writers gained internation recognition, North American Review, painters
  • Revived Bank of the United States voted in Congress 1816
  • Army expanded to 10,000 men, navy more glory.

"The American System":

  • American factories, Britain tried to hurt factories.
  • Congress passed Tariff of 1816 - for protection - taxed 20-25% on imports.
  • Henry Clay's plan = The American System: 1) strong banking system, easy credit, 2) protective tariff to fund 3) roads and canals (raw materials would come form S and W to N and E in exchange for manufactured goods)
  • Outrcy for better transportation
  • Congress voted distribute $1.5 million to the states for internal improvement, but Madison vetoed this, "unconstitutional"

The So-Called Era of Good Feelings:

  • Monroe wond presidency in 1816 (Dem-Rep)
  • Federalists ran last candidate and got pwned - one-party rule.
  • Monroe well-recieved by all, "Era of Good Feelings" misnomer!

The Panic of 1819 and the Curse of Hard Times:

  • 1819 - economic panic -deflation, depression, bankruptcies, unemployment.
  • US Bank hurt western banks and foreclosed farms - "devil"
  • Mounting agitation against debtors' prison

Growing Pains of the West:

  • 9 frontier states had joined the original 13 (1791-1819) alternated free and slave states
  • Motivations for westward expansion: cheap land, European immigrants, land exhuastion of tobacco states, economic distress during embargo, defeat of Indians, building of highways.
  • 1811 - Cumberland road Maryland to Illinois, Steamboat - upstream navigation.
  • Land Act of 1820 - authorized a buyer to purchase 80 virgin acres at a minimum of $1.25/acre
  • West demanded cheap transportation and cheap money.

Settlers of the Old Northwest:

  • 1st wave of newcomers came from Kentucky, Tennesee, VA, Carolinas - white farmers
  • Allowed southern farmers "Butternuts" to escape their lowly social status. Black codes - tried to prevent Blacks from coming.
  • Next decade brought Yankees from NE.
  • Conflict between Yankees and Southerners over public schooling and religion. By 1850s, started to merge.

Slavery and the Sectional Balance:

  • 1819 - Missouri wanted to be admitted as a slave state, but the House passed the Tallmadge amendment: no more slaves could be brought to Missouri.
  • Southerners saw Tallmadge amendment as a threat to sectional balance (overthrew it in Senate).
  • North dominated House, but N & S equal in Senate (11 free states, 11 slave)

The Uneasy Missouri Compromise:

  • 1820: Congress agreed to admit Missouri as a slave state, but made free Maine (once part of MA) a separate state. All slavery prohibited in Louisiana Purchase territory N of 36 30' (Southern boundary of Missouri) (READ MORE IN THE OCTOBER 2009 SECTION OF THIS BLOG)
  • Missouri Compromise lasted 34 years.
  • Monroe reelecete din 1820 - all electoral votes but one - only president to be reelected after a term in which major financial panic began.

John Marshall and Judicial Nationalism:

  • 1819 McCulloch vs. Maryland - Marlyand tried to destroy a branch of the Banks of the US by imposing taxes on its notes. John Marshall declared the bank constitutional and denied the right of Maryland to tax the bank.
  • 1821 Cohens vs. Virginia - Cohens were found guilty by Virginia courts for illegally selling lottery tickets. Marshall asserted right of the Supreme Court to review the decisions of state supreme courts in all questions involving powers of federal government
  • 1824 Gibbons vs. Ogden - NY wanted to grant a monopoly of waterborne commerce between NY and NJ. Marshall said Congress alone could control interstte commerce.

Judicial Dikes Against Democratic Excesses:

  • 1810 Fletcher vs. Peck - Georgia granted 35 million acres of Mississippi to private speculators. Marshall decreed that Constitution forbids state contracts. One of the earliest assertions of the right of the Supreme Court to invalidate state laws.
  • 1819 Dartmouth vs. Woodward - Dartmouth College had been granted a charter by King George III in 1769, NH wanted to change this. Marshall ruled the original charter must stand => protected businesses from state governments.
  • Daniel Webster = senator, Federalistic like Marshall.

Sharing Oregon and Acquiring Florida:

  • Monroe and SoS, John Quincy Adams negotiated Treat of 1818 with Britain - permitted Americans to share Newfoundland fisheries w/ Canadians.
  • Fixed northern limits of Louisiana along the 49th parallel
  • Treaty also provided for 10-year joint occupation of Oregon Country
  • Americans had seized parts of Western Florida, but most of FL belonged to Spain.
  • Revolutions broke out in S. America, so Spanish troops in Florida left.
  • General Andrew Jackson -1818 - came to Florida, hanged 2 Indian chiefs, seized important Spanish posts.
  • Jackson had exceeded his instructions
  • Florida Purchase Treaty of 1819 - Spain ceded Florida and claims to Oregon in exchange for America's abandonment of claims to Texas.

The Menace of Monarchy in America:

  • Monarchial protective association (from democracy) smothered rebellion in Italy and Spain
  • 1821 - Tsar of Russia claimed land down to California

Monroe and His Doctrine:

  • 1823 - Canning, British foreign secretary, wanted US to join w/ Britain and renounce interest in acquiring Latin American territory.
  • Adams found alliance w/ Britain would hamper American expansion and it was unnecessary.
  • 1823 Monroe Doctrine born, spurred from nationalistic Adams' thinking. Incorporated strong warning to European powers: 1) noncolonization, 2) nonintervention.

Monroe's Doctrine Appraised:

  • Monarchs of Europe angered at Monroe's doctrine
  • Tsar had decided to retreat before Monroe's message - Russo-American Treaty of 1824: fixed southern limits at tip of Alaskan panhandle
  • M.D. was called the "Self-Defense Doctrine" - concerned with security of US and not Latin America. Doctrine was as big as the nation's armed forces.

*BE SURE TO CHECK MY MIDTERM IDENTIFICATIONS -THEY ARE ALL UNDER THE OCTOBER 2009 SECTION IN THE ARCHIVE - THEY PROVIDE DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF IMPORTANT TOPICS THAT WILL BE ON ESSAYS AND THE MIDTERM.

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